Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Details...details...

As y'all know I just bought a Soma Rush with a matching threadless fork in khaki green. I always use a front brake when riding fixed on the road, so I expect the fork to be drilled for a front brake, which it was. I also expect it the be drilled for a modern brake with a recessed nut, which it wasn't. Instead, it was drilled for an old school brake with a throughbolt and external nut / washer. It also lacked a flat at the front and was curved, requiring a concave / flat washer like old school forks. Fortunately I had a washer in my parts bin, since I have a lot of vintage bikes, and was able to bore the hole at the back to accept a recessed nut. However, I did not have a counter-bore bit, so the nut is not recessed. The stock nut was too short, and the longest nut I had in my parts bin catches only about 5mm of thread, so as soon as I can get to my lbs I'm going to get a longer one. Anyway, just another example of how unanticipated details can affect a new build, and you never know what surprise is in store.

How long of a nut do you need? I've got a bunch and could send one with the rest of your other stuff.

Interesting find. I'm excited to see my twin all built up! What are your impressions of it so far? I was taken away by how light mine was for being a 57cm steel frame with a steel fork.

i hate it when these things happen.

ive been drooling over that frame (in that color) for some time now.

welcome to the club...my affinity lo pro fork is the same :-/
the 105 brake doesn't fit properly

How long of a nut do you need? I've got a bunch and could send one with the rest of your other stuff.

Hey, thanks. The one I'm using now has a total length of about 20mm (threaded shaft 18mm), so I think 25mm total would be perfect. 30mm would be too long.

Between what I've got on hand and the bucket o' nuts & bolts at the shop, I'm sure I can come up with something.

this is weird because my older ('09) soma rush (pre tange dropout) has a different fork crown (with a window), and it takes a recessed brake nut.

this is weird because my older ('09) soma rush (pre tange dropout) has a different fork crown (with a window), and it takes a recessed brake nut.

What color is your fork ? I've looked at the photos on the Soma webstore, and only the khaki green ones appear to be like mine w/o the window cutout in the external crown lug tangs >>> http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-3773699254952_2182_32783030 Maybe, that's why they are being heavily discounted.

Interesting find. I'm excited to see my twin all built up! What are your impressions of it so far? I was taken away by how light mine was for being a 57cm steel frame with a steel fork.

Oh, I haven't even started to build mine yet (still waiting on most major parts), but the quality of the frame is very evident in the tidy welds, perfect alignment and dropout spacing, and paint finish. I bought some stainless steel dropout protectors from Wabi to protect the paint from the track nuts. I weighed the bare 49cm frame at 3.92lbs, which is only about 0.2 lbs heavier than my 49cm Leader 721tr V2 and a lot lighter than the VISP. I'm hoping to have it completed before Christmas.

What color is your fork ? I've looked at the photos on the Soma webstore, and only the khaki green ones appear to be like mine w/o the window cutout in the external crown lug tangs >>> http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-3773699254952_2182_32783030 Maybe, that's why they are being heavily discounted.

yeah, i have a white frame/fork. the fork crown thing isn't too big of a issue but its something that they really should have seen coming... pretty sure 90+% of brakes sold today are recessed bolt. anyway, not too big of a deal and i really hope youll enjoy your frame as i do with mine!

http://bite-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Advice-Dog-COOL-STORY-BRO.jpg

yeah, i have a white frame/fork. the fork crown thing isn't too big of a issue but its something that they really should have seen coming... pretty sure 90+% of brakes sold today are recessed bolt. anyway, not too big of a deal and i really hope youll enjoy your frame as i do with mine!

Thing is that it needs a short reach caliper, and the only through bolt calipers available today are medium to long reach. Also, most shops don't stock those concave washers, because modern bikes have forks that don't need them. I just happened to have one left in my parts bin. Anyway, the important thing is that the brake can be mounted, even if lacks aesthetics, since the nut is not fully recessed.

Another annoyance is that the fork dropouts had those stupid nanny tabs, that I ground off. So now I need to find some matching khaki green touchup paint. I don't think the other fork colors have them. Did yours ?

Thing is that it needs a short reach caliper, and the only through bolt calipers available today are medium to long reach. Also, most shops don't stock those concave washers, because modern bikes have forks that don't need them. I just happened to have one left in my parts bin. Anyway, the important thing is that the brake can be mounted, even if lacks aesthetics, since the nut is not fully recessed.

Another annoyance is that the fork dropouts had those stupid nanny tabs, that I ground off. So now I need to find some matching khaki green touchup paint. I don't think the other fork colors have them. Did yours ?

my fork did not have lawyer lips that i had to grind off. seems like all framesets these days are coming with them.

****, I hate those things. Even the Alpina fork on my Kagero has them. Even worse, the dropouts are so thick I need to completely remove my axle nuts to get the wheel on or off.

fork ends on a (my) curt goodrich fork:
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTps65sN5Kub8yIFKAvYOIAut7dlwcrpUBo7EXaHY8YjCRSPgQa

sometimes it is the small things in life

The straight blade chrome track fork on retrogression has a little lip on the fork ends too. One other thing to remember/plan for on this frame is chainring clearance. I have like 1mm of clearance between my 53t chainring and the chainstay.(ib4 someone poops a brick) Depending on your bottom bracket, crankset, and chainring size there's a chance you'll run into clearance issues. I know you're an OG at bike building though so you'll probably be fine lol.

Hey Tejano, I bought a soma rush frame from cyclingclubsports just like you. I was wondering how long it took for them to ship? And did they send you a confirmation email upon shipping? I ordered mine last monday night and didn't pay attention to the past page to see if it had a tracking number or not and haven't received anything in the form of email since ordering, so I am a bit worried. I would've sent this in PM, but I do not have enough posts, sorry :)

Hey Tejano, I bought a soma rush frame from cyclingclubsports just like you. I was wondering how long it took for them to ship? And did they send you a confirmation email upon shipping? I ordered mine last monday night and didn't pay attention to the past page to see if it had a tracking number or not and haven't received anything in the form of email since ordering, so I am a bit worried. I would've sent this in PM, but I do not have enough posts, sorry :)

Did you receive an order confirmation email ? It should say "Cycle Club Sports Receipt". They are slow to ship. I ordered mine on Monday and they didn't ship until Friday. They take 2-4 business days to ship, and since last Thursday was a holiday, it was only 3 business days so far. When they finally shipped, I received an email from them with a UPS tracking number. I also received a UPS Quantam View email with tracking. If you don't hear from them by tomorrow, send them an email. How did you pay them ?

I called them earlier and they said they would be shipping today :D

We really should do a group ride. Didn't a fourth person get a khaki rush too?

You guys can be called "Peas in a pod" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fork ends on a (my) curt goodrich fork:
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTps65sN5Kub8yIFKAvYOIAut7dlwcrpUBo7EXaHY8YjCRSPgQa

sometimes it is the small things in life

Chiseled ends.

That's something Tim Isaac taught us.

Chiseled ends.

That's something Tim Isaac taught us.

was this done on some of his OEM designs or just something he taught you?

was this done on some of his OEM designs or just something he taught you?

We chiseled the ends on all the team frames and model 170 frames we built at Trek. Curt Goodrich worked with Tim Isaac at Match Bicycles; I suspect that's where he picked it up.

We chiseled the ends on all the team frames and model 170 frames we built at Trek. Curt Goodrich worked with Tim Isaac at Match Bicycles; I suspect that's where he picked it up.

i will really need to inspect a 170 sometime. i wish i could download your historical knowledge.

When you say "chiseled", are you referring to a "grinding a bevel" process?? What is the purpose of the facets; were there "lawyer lips" there to begin with, and/or is this to improve the ease of sliding an axle into the dropouts?

When you say "chiseled", are you referring to a "grinding a bevel" process?? What is the purpose of the facets; were there "lawyer lips" there to begin with, and/or is this to improve the ease of sliding an axle into the dropouts?

Purely cosmetic...

were there "lawyer lips" there to begin with

no, the fork came from the builder this way.

We really should do a group ride. Didn't a fourth person get a khaki rush too?

You guys can be just like this:

http://www.pedalroom.com/p/all-about-mash-2072_1.jpg

One of my dumpster score bikes had lawyer lips on the INSIDE of the dropouts! Those had me scratching my head for some time.